


Times of Doom

by MassiveSpaceWren



Category: Iron Man (Comic), Marvel (Comics), Marvel 616, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Accidental Marriage, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bittersweet, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Idk if this even counts as angst please let me know, Light Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-25
Updated: 2016-07-25
Packaged: 2018-07-26 17:44:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7583872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MassiveSpaceWren/pseuds/MassiveSpaceWren
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Iron Man Comics (616), Tony Stark/Victor Von Doom, changing the past for a happier future has unexpected results.</p><p>(Slight spoilers for Civil War II issue 3)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [navaan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/navaan/gifts).



> THANKS to Veldeia for betaing! <3  
> For navaan. It's her fault.
> 
> I might possibly write alternate endings, because I had at least three ideas how to make it better and worse.
> 
>  
> 
> Spoilers for Civil War II are mentioned in the first three paragraphs, after skipping those, everything should be safe.

Victor found Tony sitting in his workshop, uncharacteristically silent and still. He wasn't looking at the screens, but staring into middle distance, his eyes red.

"Tony...?" Victor stepped closer carefully, not wanting to startle him.

"They're dead. Rhodey, Bruce, and now Jen... and they won't be the last. I know it. It will get worse, worse than the last time the heroes fought each other, worse than the Registration Act..." Tony swallowed, his voice getting quieter. "I remember it. I know I shouldn't, I erased everything with the Registration Act database... but since they said the universe was remade, I remember."

Tony kept staring at the wall, desperation clear on his face. "I don't know if I can go through that again," he whispered, before looking at Victor pleadingly. "It's my fault. I couldn't prevent this. Why didn't I do more... Now it’s too late."

Victor tried to swallow around the lump in his throat. Seeing Tony like this made his resolve harden. Anything to take Tony’s pain away. He clenched his fists and set his mouth in a grim line.

"We can still save them, Tony," he said quietly. "I have the time platform."

 

###

Finding the turning points of history wasn't easy, but that was what geniuses were for.

Some information here, to change reactions of politicians and people, and give the good guys a chance to take down the worst of the worst. A bomb at the right time and place will stop who needs to be stopped and get people to pay attention to what was important.

Tony hated every second of it. He had always believed that changing the future by changing the past would only lead to more chaos and misery. But right now he couldn't imagine their changes making things much worse.

They sent the last package through the time portal, and Tony closed his eyes. He glanced at Victor, who nodded shortly. This was it; this should change everything for the better.


	2. Chapter 2

Tony awoke slowly, feeling warm and safe. The person cuddled against him had an arm loosely slung over him and Tony tried to sink deeper into the mattress.

Then he realized the last thing he remembered was changing the past. 

Tony opened his eyes, looking around. His gaze landed on the man he was cuddled up to. He did a double take.

“Holy shit!” Tony exclaimed while trying to scramble away as fast as possible. Next to him, looking like he had slept peacefully, but waking up now, was none other than Victor von Doom, without his mask. His face was a mess of scars, disfigured and ugly. 

“What the hell?!” Tony demanded. He looked down at himself and realized he was wearing the comfiest but unsexiest boxer shorts he had ever seen. Well, better than nothing, he supposed, laughing hysterically. “Did we have a one-night stand?”

It was obvious when Doom actually became aware of his surroundings. He covered his face with his hands, trying to get away as fast as possible. His metal mask was on the bedside table and he fastened it to his face with a few practiced movements.

Doom was looking around too, still breathing hard. He took in the room and his own half-clothed state, before letting his gaze settle on Tony. 

“I… don’t think that’s what happened,” Doom started softly, before holding up his left hand for Tony to see. Around his ring finger was a ring made of intertwined red and gold metal. Tony’s eyes widened. He stared at his own hand, where a green-and-silver ring with the same design sat.

“We’re _married_?!” Tony shouted. “Oh no, no, no… this can’t be happening…” Tony slumped off the bed and buried his face in his hands. The memories of the changed life trickled into his brain slowly. Doom, deciding to help the Avengers a lot earlier than before, trying to redeem himself. Tony and Doom in the workshop, discussing how to improve their armor. Doom, looking at Tony fondly and clinking their glasses together. The two of them arguing about arrangements for the wedding.

“Noooo, no, no… we’re actually married,” Tony groaned. He tried to think back to what else had happened in this changed timeline. When he looked up, Doom also seemed deep in concentration. 

Tony took a deep breath to calm himself. “Why don’t I remember everything about this changed timeline? Doom, if this is a trick, I swear-” 

“It’s not a trick. I don’t remember everything yet, either. It might take some time to… get used to it all, and for the memories to settle.” Doom’s voice was quiet and strained.

“Okay, okay…” Tony sucked in a breath before speaking again. “We’ll take it slow. Find out what else has changed. Whether we actually made the world a better place. And then… we’ll sort out this mess.”

 

###

 

Victor closed the bathroom door behind him. The clothes he had taken with him lay forgotten on the floor, while he sank down next to them. 

It had been such a good plan. When he'd met Tony for the first time, all those years ago, he'd thought Tony might have potential, but was neither a threat nor particularly interesting if he kept tinkering only with his armor. After Victor had thought Tony would be useful against Madame Masque and had gotten to know him better, he had changed his mind. Tony was a genius, and even if his armor was his biggest project, it was far from the only brilliant thing he had invented. He was strong but still kind, and selfless in a way no one who saw him play his role for the media would suspect.

In those months Victor began to think that maybe, maybe there could be something more between them. Victor had seen the way Tony looked at him sometimes; he must have at least found his new good looks pleasing. When they started to plan how to change the past, Victor made sure to nudge his past self in Tony’s direction earlier. If there was less bad blood between them, he might have a chance with Tony, he had thought. 

How wrong he had been.

Yes, they were married. But Tony had seen his face and recoiled from him, had clearly not wanted to be close to him at all. Of course Tony wouldn’t want to be with him when he looked like this.

Victor chuckled sadly. He’d spent so much time alone in his castle in Latveria, he could simply return to that. Only now he also had memories of Tony allowing him into the mansion, of helping the Avengers. He didn’t know everything that had happened in this changed timeline, but some things stood out in his mind. He remembered what Tony looked like when he fell asleep in the workshop and how he hugged Victor in the mornings, when he was still drowsy before his first coffee. The image of Tony’s smile was seared into his mind. Tony had reassured him about taking his mask off, and when Victor had finally been ready for that, Tony had kissed him and accepted him anyway.

And now, that would be all he had left: memories of a time that he had never lived. A sob escaped Victor’s throat. 

 

###

 

Tony threw himself into his work. He had a vague feeling of how things usually were in his new and “improved” daily life, but he wanted to know everything. Reading articles about the last few years of superhero politics, looking up current issues, and sitting on the common floor of Avengers Tower and watching the people around him gave him an overview of what was different. 

Life had actually changed for the better. The Registration Act had been revised thoroughly, keeping both heroes and civilians safe. The Skrull Invasion had been discovered early enough, giving the heroes a chance to intervene. With the combined forces of the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, and Molecule Man and Doctor Doom, they had even managed to restart the universe. 

Doom. Tony tried to avoid thinking about him. Sure, Doom had been interesting in his timeline, but how was he supposed to actually trust him after such a short time? And this whole “married” mess? Tony tried to ignore it as best as he could.

 

###

 

Victor tried to keep to himself, mostly, and especially kept his distance from Tony. He had gotten some weird looks, but that was nothing he hadn’t been used to as super villain anyway. 

On the third day, Reed Richards, of all people, decided to sit down next to him. Richards began with pleasantries and small talk, but at some point Victor grew tired of it.

“What do you want?” Victor finally asked. 

“Victor, come on, you know you can talk to me. I didn’t want to impose but… Is everything alright with you and Tony? You've seemed a little odd lately. As in, less disgustingly domestic,” Richards said with a reassuring smile on his face.

“It is none of your business,” Victor said in a clipped tone. 

Richards shot him a confused look before sighing. “Okay,” he said. “Victor, we’ve been friends for years, you know you can tell me pretty much everything, right? If you want to talk, I’ll be there.” 

Richards squeezed Victor’s shoulder for a moment. When Victor did nothing but stare at him blankly, he got up and left. 

Victor couldn’t help but chuckle. Reed Richards and him, friends. This timeline was strange indeed.

 

###

 

Tony was happy that at least fighting in the armor was familiar. Villain of the week, must be Tuesday. This time it was someone Tony didn’t recognize. But his memories had returned enough to know how to fight alongside his own team and how to counter the enemy’s attacks.

When a swarm of enemy bots surrounded him, Tony knew the team had his back. 

Seconds later, Doom appeared out of thin air, an arm’s length to Tony’s left, surrounding them both with a magical shield. 

In a split second decision, Tony fired his repulsors at the bots. Like he had suspected, the shield let the repulsor beams pass through. Without having to think about covering himself, Tony destroyed the last few bots quickly, while Doom evaded smoothly to avoid blocking his line of fire 

When it was quiet, Tony turned to stare at Doom, thankful for the faceplate. He wouldn’t want Doom to know how normal fighting next to him felt, since they had worked together to stop Madame Masque. Starting up the boot jets, Tony lifted off and sped towards the Tower. 

 

###

 

Victor was surprised to see that Tony still let him come to the workshop when they had to work on something for the Avengers. He hadn’t been sure he’d ever see Tony’s sanctuary from the inside again. 

Tony seemed on edge at first, but calmed down and conversed animatedly once Victor got him to think about the science more than their situation. He allowed himself a small smile, hidden behind his mask. 

 

###

 

Everyday life started to feel normal again. Tony wondered if that was because most of his memories about this altered timeline had settled already. Spending time with the other Avengers came naturally to him, as did fighting to protect the world. 

Only sometimes, when Tony sat alone in his workshop, or tried to sleep, he’d feel like something was missing. He somehow expected someone to discuss everything with. Expected the air to glow with a teleportation spell. Absentmindedly checked for magical artifacts in his workshop. 

After some time, Tony couldn’t avoid thinking about what that meant.

 

###

 

One evening, a few weeks later, someone knocked on the door to the room he had moved into, for whenever he had to stay at the Tower. Expecting Reed or one of the other Avengers, Victor opened the door. 

Victor’s breath caught in his throat when he saw Tony standing in front of him. Damn. He never should have started feeling so safe here. Victor stepped aside to let him in. It was not like he could deny the man much. 

Tony turned to him and fixed him with a stare. 

“Let-” Tony swallowed and took a deep breath. “Let me take you out on a date. Please. I know I screwed up. Give me another chance.”

Victor huffed out a sad laugh. While he would have liked nothing more than to accept, this wasn’t how he wanted Tony to be with him. 

“No,” Victor said. Seeing Tony’s heartbroken expression, he sighed and added: “Tony, you don’t have to do this. Even if we are officially married here and you have those memories of us you never wanted, we can still just go back to how it was before."

“That’s not it,” Tony said, fidgeting with his hands and avoiding looking into Victor’s eyes. “I… don’t even remember all that much about, you know, us. At first I really didn’t want to think about it. I couldn’t really allow myself to just trust you. But these last few months, I've been happiest when we've been working together, or just spending time together. I’ll do better this time.” Tony finally looked at Victor again, his eyes pleading. 

Victor sucked in a sharp breath before staring Tony down. “My face is still the same ugly mess that you saw on that first day. You can not possibly want this.” 

Tony’s expression shifted into a smirk. “You know, I might not have all my memories, but I do remember what you look like and I see no problems there at all. I didn't marry you for your pretty face, you know.” Tony shrugged. “It’s just not every day that I wake up half naked next to someone who was considered a villain a few weeks earlier…”

“Oh, it isn’t?” Victor couldn’t suppress a smirk too. “That sounds pretty much like what you should be used to.”

Tony barked out a surprised laugh. “I suppose I deserved that. So… date?”

Victor could only resist Tony for so long. “Yes,” he whispered.

 

###

 

After remembering old memories and making new ones, they ended up curled against each other, Victor’s mask forgotten on the bedside table.


End file.
